Ultimate Airport Dubai (2013) s02e02 Episode Script

1
NARRATOR: In this episode, tempers
fray when things go wrong in the hanger.
NIZALMAN: Wrong
part number (bleep).
Wrong aircraft.
HASSAN: Put your
bags over there.
NARRATOR: Customs find bags
full of unusual contraband.
HASSAN: That's organic.
NARRATOR: And work begins on a billion
dollar runway construction project.
One of the most ambitious
the world has ever seen.
SUZANNE: The bar is getting
higher and higher and higher.
NARRATOR: Dubai
International Airport.
The busiest global hub on the
planet, and aiming to stay there.
PILOT: Clear for take off.
NARRATOR: But
perfection is never easy.
JUMAH: It's not finished,
it's supposed to be finished.
NARRATOR: More
planes to service.
ANDY: Can we open the
number three engine?
NARRATOR: More
situations to deal with.
MEL: What do you
mean live snakes?
HASSAN: Oh sorry.
NARRATOR: More
smugglers to stop.
HASSAN: This is
the heroin here.
NARRATOR: And massive
engineering projects to complete on time.
It's non stop, 24/7.
CARL: Hey! Hey!
MAN: Off!
CARL: Everything
is time, time, time.
NARRATOR: It's the job
of 90,000 staff from all over the world,
to make this the Ultimate Airport.
Dubai International Airport
is a vast, complex machine.
From check in, to baggage handling.
From aircraft engineering,
to air side operations.
Everything is interconnected.
A small localized problem
can quickly ripple out across the airport,
turning into a big one that
puts everyone under pressure.
Air traffic control must keep the
planes moving, flying in and out of
the airport on schedule.
But tonight, Dubai tower has a situation
unfolding that could cause serious complications.
A plane that's just landed
from Kuwait, may be on fire.
PILOT (over radio): Ground control,
request ground vehicles to approach.
We have some smoke coming
from our left landing gear.
MAN (over radio): Emirates 858,
the fire services have been alerted.
They're on their way.
PILOT (over radio): Temperature's
still rising on the left side
and smoke still coming.
PHIL: So we have roughly
300 passengers on board.
That fire brigade needs to be over
there to make sure that passenger
safety's taken care of.
NARRATOR: Phil Marques is in
charge of Dubai's air traffic control.
PHIL: It's kind of critical
that they get there pretty quickly.
NARRATOR: The aircraft's pilot is reporting
that the hydraulics on one of his left
brakes may be leaking.
PHIL: If it's a hydraulic
leak, the system's pressurized.
With the heat from the brakes and just
landing a Triple 7, it could start a fire.
MAN (over radio): Advise to the
pilot to shut down the engine please.
MAN (over radio):
Emirates 858 do you copy?
They're requesting you
to shut down the engine.
PILOT (over radio): OK, we'll
shut down the left engine.
NARRATOR: In this case,
there is smoke but no fire.
Now engineers must
find out what went wrong.
PHIL: The aircraft is now
being towed to the stand.
The fire service is still with the aircraft
just to make sure that everything's okay.
NARRATOR: At the terminal, aircraft engineer
Tariq Naim, has been put on high alert.
TARIQ: We are worried, our
ground staff is worried.
Everybody's anxiously waiting
for that aircraft to come in.
NARRATOR: Tariq can be called on to
make emergency repairs, to any one of the
223 planes in Emirates fleet.
TARIQ: Normally it comes in under its own
power, so as a precaution they have switched
off the engines on here.
We don't take any risks.
NARRATOR: After an initial
inspection, the passengers disembark.
PILOT: Nice to meet you.
TARIQ: Okay. See you. PILOT: Alright.
TARIQ: Okay.
NARRATOR: And the
flight crew can clock off.
TARIQ: Yeah that's now officially
our aircraft because this is transferred
from the captain to the
engineer, flight off, to engineer.
NARRATOR: No chances can
be taken with an aircraft's brakes.
So this plane will be
taken out of service until the fault is
investigated, and fixed.
But Tariq can't do that here at the gate.
TARIQ: Prepare the hangars
for the arrival please?
NARRATOR: Before he can even start
to fix it, he faces a major challenge.
He has to get it across a live runway,
between planes taking off at speeds of
over 200 miles per hour.
To keep the airport running like a well
oiled machine, the 182,000 passengers who use
it each day, must be moved
through as quickly as possible.
But for those coming into Dubai, there's
one thing that can instantly bring their
journey to a standstill.
HASSAN: Excuse me.
Just get your bags over there.
NARRATOR: Customs officer Hassan Ibrahim,
must make sure that none of these incoming
passengers are carrying
illegal smuggled goods.
HASSAN: This all for you?
One person?
MAN: No, no, no, no,
no, no, no, no.
HASSAN: I want to know each
one, how much you with them.
It's for personal, or for trading or what?
NARRATOR: Customs officers
everywhere are on the look out for drugs.
But here in Dubai, they also need
to be able to spot a whole range of
unusual and exotic contraband.
WOMAN: But I don't know
whether it's okay or not.
HASSAN: So you have a
piece of horn yeah?
It's for decoration.
WOMAN: Yeah the decoration
is okay or not, I don't know.
HASSAN: Yeah,
that's okay no problem. WOMAN: Oh!
NARRATOR: A flight has just arrived
from India, and Hassan's been called to
investigate two
passengers with a suspect bag.
HASSAN: Okay, excuse me.
(speaking foreign language)
HASSAN: Yes, put
your bags over there.
(speaking foreign language)
NARRATOR: Custom's scanners have revealed
it's full of some kind of plant material.
HASSAN: I look in the, to
the bag of the passengers.
It shows here it's organic.
It's giving this orange color.
And now we'll go there and
we'll see if he declare it or not.
NARRATOR: Hassan needs to look inside the
passenger's bags, to investigate what the
mysterious organic material might be.
HASSAN: How are you?
Do you speak English yeah?
PASSENGER: Yes.
HASSAN: So, uh huh.
And why you brought this?
PASSENGER: From India.
HASSAN: Yeah from
India, but why you brought?
PASSENGER:
For a company.
HASSAN: For a company?
PASSENGER: Yes.
PASSENGER:
Yes, it's a gift.
HASSAN: Oh you just,
you brought it as a gift?
PASSENGER: Yes.
HASSAN: Uh huh, okay.
NARRATOR: The bag is
stuffed full of oud chips.
But not just any old wood chips.
HASSAN: So the
bag's full of oud.
Nothing else?
No personal things, nothing?
NARRATOR: Oud is the most
expensive wood in the world.
Used to make luxury cologne here in the Middle
East, this bag alone could be worth up to
50,000 US dollars.
But it's an endangered
species, and its trade is regulated.
So the passengers will need to show
a permit or their bag will confiscated.
Out on the stand, aircraft engineer Tariq
prepares to push back the disabled Triple 7,
so it can be towed across
the live runway to the hanger.
MAN (over radio): Back to
air pushback face west.
TARIQ: Here we go finally.
It's a very crucial time.
We have that small time bracket which
the tower gives us to cross the runway.
PHIL: It looks like the
aircraft's ready to cross the runway now.
The controller has to make
sure that he's got the appropriate gap.
NARRATOR: At a towing speed of just over 11
miles per hour, it should take this Triple 7,
12 seconds to cross the runway.
With just three minutes
between planes, there's no room for error.
Stalling on a live
runway would be a disaster.
TARIQ: You have to
be very very careful, all the instructions
very carefully and precisely.
Because on the other side we
can see those two airplanes landing,
and we are crossing this live runway.
This is the green light for us, so
we have crossed the runway now.
PHIL: The team have
handled it really well.
Hopefully the aircraft gets
back up and running soon.
NARRATOR: Tariq has got the
plane across the runway without a hitch.
But now, he needs to
get it into the hanger.
Which is more hazardous than it sounds.
There's less than eight feet
clearance on either side of that
multi-million dollar tail fin.
TARIQ: It's really
very very precise.
We need to get this aircraft
right in the right place.
In aircraft, even if you get a small
scratch, that will cost us 48 hour which
might be costly to do.
It can be millions of dollars.
NARRATOR: Some precision
parking, and the plane is in.
TARIQ: We're in
final position?
MAN (over radio): You
are in final position.
TARIQ: Okay.
I'm setting the parking brakes.
Bit of a relief finally
coming inside the hanger.
No time to rest.
No time to take a break now.
NARRATOR: Tariq gets straight
on to inspecting that faulty brake.
TARIQ: This is the
brake which was leaking.
NARRATOR: Like in a Formula One car,
this plane's brakes are made of carbon.
On touchdown, as they
bring 260 tons of passenger jet to a stop,
they can heat up to
1800 degrees Fahrenheit.
TARIQ: The hydraulic fluid fell over the
hot brake, it has produced some smoke which
kept on so the fire services
and everything came over to the aircraft.
We have 12 brakes, and out of those 12
brakes, this was one brake and on each
brake we have eight pistons.
And so one of those eight
pistons which was slightly leaking.
NARRATOR: Just one leaking piston out of
96, has taken this plane out of service.
And it could have a knock-on
effect for the whole fleet.
TARIQ: In
aviation time is money.
This aircraft has to make
that next departure on time.
If it is delays by three minutes or more
than that, that needs to be justified,
that will need to be answered.
HASSAN: We want to see the
certificate or some pay pass.
NARRATOR: At customs, officer Hassan
has stopped two passengers with a bag of
valuable endangered oud bark.
HASSAN: No pass,
there's nothing here.
Can you check it please again in your bag?
So you bring us this paper.
Okay, what's this my friend?
This a normal paper, an invoice.
My friend we need another
certificate not that one. Do you have it?
PASSENGER: We
will bring something.
HASSAN: Okay, okay.
Until the, until the time you
bring we will confiscate your oud.
NARRATOR: Their $50,000
bag of wood is seized.
HASSAN: Open please?
NARRATOR: But the Indian
passengers have two more bags with them.
HASSAN: This also oud?
And also here.
NARRATOR: These bags
will be impounded too.
HASSAN: Let's see.
NARRATOR: All up, Hassan has
found 90 pounds of oud bark.
A haul that's worth a small fortune.
HASSAN: Would you
please come with me.
Just put it on your trolley.
After it's been cleaned and
added some liquids and some perfume,
maybe it will reach
above the 100,000 US dollar.
NARRATOR: For the two passengers
from India, it's been a very costly day.
But with a global oud market worth
up to eight billion US dollars every year,
for many, the smuggling of
this protected species is worth the risk.
HASSAN: I believe that this oud
has been sold on the black market.
I think it's a good catch.
NARRATOR: If the passengers
don't come back with the right paperwork,
their oud will become government
property, and can be sold or destroyed.
Every 92 seconds round
the clock, a flight lands,
or takes off from one of Dubai
International's two runways.
The world's heaviest passenger plane lands
here more frequently than anywhere else.
And the constant
pummeling is taking its toll.
Threatening Dubai's number one position.
But it won't be giving up
its title without a fight.
SUZANNE: We're always working towards
making Dubai the best airport in the world.
The best connection between East and West.
NARRATOR: Suzanne Al Anani has one of the
most powerful and high profile jobs in Dubai.
As the airport's engineering CEO, she
manages a multi million dollar budget,
and a work force of thousands.
In just six weeks' time, her team
will begin the complete overhaul of
both runways back to back.
For almost three months, Dubai
will be down to a single runway.
The operation and reputation
of the world's busiest global hub,
and its engineering
chief, will be on the line.
SUZANNE: You will never have, in any airport
in the world, you have you know especially
a two runway airport.
One runway closes, and then it is open
followed by another closure immediately.
It's the first time ever
in the world you know.
It's never happened before.
The bar is getting
higher and higher and higher.
So it's always testing
you and your capabilities.
NARRATOR: Today, Suzanne's ordered a trial
runway closure to test her team's readiness.
SUZANNE: How do you
know it's closed?
YOUSUF: Because they are already
there. We have received the information
SUZANNE: Okay.
YOUSUF: and they are already
there, they're setting up their equipment.
SUZANNE: Alright.
This one is not coming towards us?
YOUSUF: Hopefully not.
NARRATOR: Yousuf Pirzada
is her project manager.
He'll be in charge of 5,000 people,
working 24/7 in temperatures of
up to 120 degrees.
It will be the biggest
project of his career.
YOUSUF: I can say that
this is a unique work which is happening.
I haven't heard anything
like it anywhere in the world.
NARRATOR: The
work is critical.
A small imperfection could cause a
huge problem for a landing aircraft.
SUZANNE: It looks
so irregular here.
SUZANNE: Can you feel it?
The undulations?
YOUSUF: Our problem
is basically these cracks.
YOUSUF: If we don't repair it now
these cracks will keep on opening.
SUZANNE: Once a crack appears, a structural
crack, the whole structure doesn't
act as one structure it weakens.
And if this weakens, we never know how it's
going to behave to the load at the touchdown.
It might cause imbalance
and the aircraft you know, when it touches
down, god forbid, we don't know
what disaster it's gonna cause.
YOUSUF: It can come up.
It can be sucked in the engine.
SUZANNE: Yeah.
Yeah yeah.
This is the area we are repairing.
A very bad area.
NARRATOR: The construction
team has until 7 PM sharp to resurface
360 feet of runway.
Today's performance will
reveal the scale of the task ahead,
when they resurface
all 2.5 miles of it.
MAN: This is about a four
hour operation.
So far so good.
NARRATOR: The old asphalt is being
cut out, and the second stripped back
to its concrete base.
This milling machine eats it up at
a rate of eight cubic yards a minute.
Once the asphalt is removed,
the area needs to be surgically cleaned.
MAN: We're just finishing up
getting the cleaning up finished off.
Make sure there is no dust or debris on.
YOUSUF: Yeah.
MAN: If we have any dust or debris
then that coat won't take properly
and then you're liable to get
the new asphalt lifting off.
NARRATOR: The contractors need to work
quickly, but must not damage vital runway
infrastructure like lights and signals.
But Yousuf's worried that because of
the pressure, they've brought far too many
workers on site, and they're
getting in each others way.
YOUSUF: Who
is in charge here?
Only people who are related
to this activity should stay there.
All of them can go back
because it's not safe.
NARRATOR: There's just six and a half hours
left to lay the asphalt and let it cool.
Suzanne's keeping a close watch.
If her team can't do this small
job in time, it will be bad news for
the main refurbishment.
SUZANNE: We are committed.
We can or we can't, must happen.
I don't want anything to hinder the
progress of what we have committed to.
South runway, north runway or whatever.
You know the facilitation and
everything has to be done.
MAN: No failure.
SUZANNE: Yes. MAN: No failure.
NARRATOR: The Triple 7 that came in during
the night from Kuwait with a leaking brake,
is still in the hanger for repair.
A new shift of engineers
have taken over the job.
NIZALMAN: And you better
check on the other side.
Check the other side.
At the moment because of the
leak, we need to confirm that it's only
isolated to only one brake.
Aswad!
Are you removing this?
NARRATOR: Aircraft engineer Nizalman Rahman,
is in charge of getting this plane back in
the air safely and on time.
NIZALMAN: So we'll
jack up both together at the same time.
NARRATOR: No chances can be
taken with aircraft safety.
NIZALMAN: Okay put
it there at the back.
NARRATOR: So this
$125,000 brake assembly will be replaced.
But first, they need to get it off.
Starting with the single
pin that holds the brake on.
NIZALMAN: It's stuck.
Okay move the pin out, drop the
pin out, that's why it's not coming out.
This is stuck because of the
heat, and because of the leak.
So it's just jammed up now.
Go. Don't hit my hand no.
NARRATOR: Bringing a fully loaded
passenger jet to a stop after touchdown,
has put this carbon brake
under extreme pressure.
NIZALMAN: Compared to a car,
maximum car will have 100 PSI that's it.
The brake pressure going
through the piston is about 3000 PSI when
it's at maximum pressure.
So it can stop the
aircraft within 500 meters.
NARRATOR: Now they've
finally got the old brake assemblage off,
it's time to put the new one on.
Which should be a straightforward job.
NIZALMAN: Wait wait,
it's the wrong brake.
The wrong part number (bleep).
Wrong aircraft.
Yeah brake!
This brake is meant
for the 300 ER, where on this is a 300.
NARRATOR: Between the shifts, there's
been a mix up, and Nizalman's been sent
a brake for a different model of Triple 7.
No one wants to be the guy
who sent an aircraft out late.
They need to get the correct part quickly.
ENGINEER: Yeah.
One part 81 please.
Alright, make it that we'll
collect, or deliver very urgent.
NIZALMAN: It's extra annoying to have
the wrong part to be dealing with to us,
to be fitted on the aircraft.
Because now we are wasting
more time to get the right part.
Time is money.
Aircraft on the ground
doesn't make any money.
NARRATOR: Nizalman sends an engineer to
make sure they get the right part this time.
And that should be easy, because
Dubai International has one of the largest
aviation part stores on the planet.
Holding spares for all the
aircraft in Emirates fleet.
At the touch of a button, more
than six million parts can be called up.
From whole engines,
down to the tiniest screw.
$1.7 billion of kit on standby, to make
sure aircraft aren't on the ground for a
second longer than they need to be.
440 pounds of new brake is collected
and delivered back to the hangar.
NIZALMAN: Yeah this is the
right part for the aircraft.
Okay go up.
Okay. Release.
Okay that's it.
The longest brake change ever.
Close to an hour.
Not Emirates standard.
Okay go.
We are very happy at the moment, but
still we have one more action to be done,
doing, to do an investigation why
did the wrong brake came to us,
and we need to ensure that
this will not happen again.
NARRATOR: This Triple 7 leaves the hanger
with all 12 brakes fully operational.
All 96 pistons intact, and a
clean bill of health to fly.
Every day 470 long
haul flights land at Dubai,
carrying 282,000 gallons of waste.
Turnaround times are tight, and getting a
seemingly small thing like emptying toilets
wrong, could mean delays
in getting those planes back in the air.
WILSON: How are you? All well?
Nightshift?
WILSON: Morning.
OK.
NARRATOR: Service delivery officer Wilson
Anthony, has just 30 minutes to turnaround
the aircraft, ready for its next flight.
WILSON: No issues?
Happy?
OK, get on with your job.
NARRATOR: This A380 has
just arrived from Australia.
It has 20 on board toilets, and on every
long haul flight, nearly 600 gallons of waste
accumulates in its sewage tanks.
That's 2.5 tons of the stuff.
WILSON: If you don't carry out the servicing
then when the flight is airborne
you go to the loo and you
find that it is blocked.
We don't want that
to happen and it will cost us very dearly.
That is the drain point.
This guy will be
connecting this hose there
and from there he will be draining
off the complete aircraft waste.
And then with
this, is a hose by which we recharge
and rinse the tank with the
aircraft disinfectant.
We have a total of four
aircraft tanks, waste tanks.
Those are interconnected
and draining from the single point.
NARRATOR: Over one liter
of waste is sucked out every second.
It takes 25 minutes to complete the job.
WILSON: It smells, but can't
help it. Somebody has to do it.
We've got a dedicated team.
They are given an allowance of 300 dirhams
extra to what other operators generally get.
And they are also vaccinated yearly
so they are immune from any disease.
NARRATOR: That's $80
extra to do this dirty, but essential job.
And when it's called for, Wilson and his
team go above and beyond the call of duty.
WILSON: Once or twice
in a year it happens that a customer
drops a very valuable
thing into the toilet.
We had a case where a lady lost her
diamond ring. It was an engagement ring.
We had to route an empty truck
to drain out the entire aircraft waste.
We got it and then the truck
was taken to an isolated place
where we had to
actually throw it out in the open
and a person had to sift it manually with
his hand to retrieve the diamond ring.
NARRATOR: This A380's
tanks have now been drained.
The waste is driven off site, and Wilson's
part in this turnaround is complete.
WILSON: I got all
my servicing done on time.
And I'm happy that the
plane will depart on time.
I've done my part.
NARRATOR: The North runway has
now been closed for two hours.
200 construction workers race to get
the resurfacing finished for the runway to
reopen at 7 PM sharp.
Today is a dress rehearsal for
the much bigger runway closure.
So Yusuf's anxious to get it right.
YOUSUF: People who
are not involved, let them..
MAN: Get rid of them. We've already
pushed everyone away from that machine.
YOUSUF: It's not safe.
Too much confusion.
Too many people.
Too many foremen.
NARRATOR: Work site
discipline is crucial.
Because in just six weeks, Yousuf
will have 5,000 workers out here,
resurfacing the whole runway.
And they'll be working within yards
of aircraft landing and taking off.
YOUSUF: You have to be very careful
because you don't want to do anything
which will impact the
only operational runway in the airport.
NARRATOR: Finally, at nine minutes past
two, the first layer of asphalt goes on.
The paver lays the top layer, which
has been heated to above 300 degrees,
so it can be rolled perfectly flat.
YOUSUF: They will continue rolling
for probably an hour or 45 minutes.
It's a race against the clock.
We have to complete the
work as soon as possible.
NARRATOR: It needs to be below
175 degrees before it's hard enough for
aircraft to land safely.
SUZANNE: It has to really
cool down before we open it for traffic.
So this is important.
I'd like to keep an eye on this.
NARRATOR: The runway must open
again in just a few hours.
Now all they can do is wait and
hope they've done the work in time.
T3 is the largest
airport terminal in the world.
The size of 160 football pitches.
MEL: You go straight through
security, upstairs into the central area.
NARRATOR: Airport services
manager, Mel Sabharwal and her team,
must make sure that every passenger makes
their way from the 158 check in counters,
to the 48 departure gates, on time.
MEL: Hello.
In the afternoon, we've got
around 9,000 transit and
around 7,000 joining passengers.
NARRATOR: That's 16,000 passengers Mel
has to contend with in a single afternoon.
If just one of them goes missing, it could
delay a flight's departure and disrupt
the whole Emirates network.
MEL: What we're currently doing
now is going through all the flights,
making sure that everything's
okay in terms of boarding processes.
I think we'll head off to
EK61, which is Hamburg.
NARRATOR: 12 minutes
before the Hamburg flight closes its gate,
Mel arrives to check
everything is running smoothly.
MUSTAFA: Home is
sweet home yeah? MAN: Yeah.
MUSTAFA: All the best.
MAN: Thank you very much.
MUSTAFA: See you sir.
You're fine. How you doing?
Good afternoon sir how you doing?
MEL: Excuse me sir.
Where was the last place you saw your son?
NARRATOR: Boarding is well under way, but
Mel has spotted a passenger in distress.
MEL: What's he wearing?
MAN: He's
wearing a white T-shirt.
MEL: Okay.
Is he on his own?
MAN: Yeah. But
he's 15 years old.
MEL: Oh okay.
We've got a young boy
missing, 15 years old.
The father is extremely worried, so
I'm just gonna have a quick look to see
if we can see him.
Did he go off to do any
shopping or anything?
MAN: Maybe. Maybe.
MEL: Do you have a
contact number for him?
MAN: No.
MEL: He's wearing a white
T-shirt, what else sir?
MAN: Black pants.
MEL: Black pants?
NARRATOR: The missing boy could
be anywhere in the terminal's 38 bars and
restaurants, 25 shops, or
three vast duty free areas.
MEL: Best thing to do in situations like
this is to take the parent along with us,
and try and see if we can
locate them in various areas of duty free.
NARRATOR: If they don't
find him soon, father and son could be off
loaded from their flight.
And they'll be stung for
the cost of another one.
But right now, Mel's more
concerned the family is reunited.
MEL: We've got ten
minutes to play with.
The main thing is, he's 15 years old,
the parent is absolutely distraught and
wants to look for him.
So that's the priority for now.
NARRATOR: Ten minutes to search
a concourse more than half a mile long.
Holding up to 5,000 people.
NARRATOR: One way to ensure your
departure from Dubai runs smoothly,
is to pay for a service where every
little thing is taken care of for you.
NAJLA: So I would like to not have
any traffic happening around this area.
Can you check.
NARRATOR: At Al Majlis, Najla Al Midfa,
works to make sure flying from Dubai
is a stress free
experience for her elite VIPs.
NAJLA: This here, I have to check about
those two cars, but make sure that anyone
NARRATOR: Al Majlis
handles the airport's elite passengers.
NAJLA: We really cater to
a very selective segment in the society.
Let it be the royal family,
celebrities and all important business
people around the world.
We make sure to offer
them the best service.
NARRATOR: Najla and her team may rub shoulders
with royalty and celebrity every day,
but she's particularly excited about
today's passenger, and a little nervous.
NAJLA: So were, is the crew aware of
about Pelé, the famous football player?
MAN: Yes, there are details and there are
all information on passengers arriving here.
NAJLA: Very good. Excellent.
I'm very excited to meet Pelé today.
My Dad was a big fan
of Pelé and it's like a dream coming true
to meet him, face to face.
NARRATOR: There's first class and then
there's Al Majlis where passengers relax in
their own private lounge,
while staff cater to their every wish.
NAJLA: Is the team ready
for the food and beverages?
MAN: Yes everything's ready.
NAJLA: Okay good.
I actually like to go by myself and
check all the lounges and the preparation
for any celebrity before
they enter the lounge.
We'll be using this lounge for
the famous football player.
Can we have an air freshener.
Can you call the cleaner please?
NARRATOR: Dubai International is always
on show, and everything must be perfect.
NAJLA: Here at Al Majlis
there's no detail too small.
If he wishes to switch on the TV then that's
his preference, but we don't want it to be
noisy when he comes in.
So when he comes in, please just
ask him what would he prefer to drink.
Not just bring anything automatically.
Okay.
NARRATOR: Being chauffeured directly
to the plane, is all part of the service.
NAJLA: But he's gonna be going
into this car, so I just wanna check.
Mmm, please can we just
have it, the carpets?
I get very disappointed because after all
the cars they reflect the image of Al Majlis,
and I would want to
always maintain the best standard.
NARRATOR: Now all Najla can do is wait
nervously for her footballing hero to arrive.
NAJLA: I just wanna
ask him one question.
One personal question.
MAN: Yeah? NAJLA: Yeah.
MAN: What are you gonna ask him?
NAJLA: I wanna ask him
whenever he, when he gets a goal,
does he know that he's gonna
get the goal before he gets the goal?
Does he feel it?
MAN: That's a tough question.
Yeah if you ask him.
Yeah you have to ask him.
NARRATOR: But Pelé is running late,
so she may not get the chance to ask him.
NAJLA: Can we check with the
contact of the driver, no?
Do we have a contact?
MAN: The guy is checking.
NARRATOR: If he doesn't arrive
soon, the plane will depart without him.
At an airport as busy as Dubai
International, there's no extra time,
not even for famous footballers.
Inside the terminal, another
passenger is getting dangerously close
to missing his flight.
Airport Services Manager, Mel, is still
scouring more than 100,000 square feet of shops
for the missing boy, who's due
to depart on a flight to Hamburg.
MEL: Zack?
MEL: Any luck?
ZACK (over radio): Negative.
MEL: That feeling as a parent that
your child is missing, it's, it's scary.
MUSTAFA: Thank you very much.
How you doing?
How's it going?
NARRATOR: Time is running
out for the missing boy.
Duty manager, Mustafa Baroush
is preparing to close the gate.
MUSTAFA: Passengers to
Hamburg please, final call.
Hamburg, final call please.
NARRATOR: But the lost teenager is
not the only passenger that's gone astray.
MUSTAFA: We have seven
minutes, 39 passengers.
I need to have seven
minutes to finish it all.
NARRATOR: If they don't' report to
the gate in time, they'll be left behind.
ZACK (over radio): Calling Mel.
The child is here.
He is already here.
NARRATOR: With just minutes to spare, the
missing boy turns up at the gate on his own.
MEL: Feel better?
MAN: Yeah. MEL: He's at the gate.
MAN: Oh.
MEL: Aw reunited.
Brings a little tear to the eye.
Okay all the best thank you.
NARRATOR: Mel may have found her passenger,
but Mustafa's still missing some of his.
MUSTAFA: Missing two.
MEL: Missing two?
MUSTAFA: 214,
this is five, 214.
MEL: Oh so we're not over.
MUSTAFA: No not yet. MEL: Oh okay.
I thought you said it was over?
ZACK: No that's what I heard.
MEL: Thanks.
Just gonna check,
double-check in the system.
NARRATOR: If they're transit passengers,
Mel should be able to find out which
gate they arrived at.
MEL: That flight arrived in
concourse eight at 11:55 this morning.
So they should be within
the terminal somewhere.
Gates should be closed
now, in exactly one minute.
26 hotel, I want business.
Business has reported.
So missing two.
NARRATOR: Now
she has a dilemma.
She doesn't want her
passengers to miss their flight,
but she can't let them delay it.
MEL: I think the best thing to do at
this stage is to see where the baggage
is located, the bags.
NARRATOR: Mel has to gamble on what
she thinks will cause the least delay.
Off load the bags, which will take at
least ten minutes, or let the bags go on,
and hope the passengers turn up.
MEL: The bag containers
should be on ground.
So the off loading should
be pretty quick in terms of baggage being
taken off the aircraft.
We're gonna have to close the gate.
NARRATOR: Decision taken,
Mel orders the bags to be off loaded.
MEL: I've closed the gate.
MAN: Okay.
MEL: Hello?
You got them?
Okay boarding over excellent okay.
Bring them down.
Thank you.
NARRATOR: The passengers
have just made it, in the nick of time.
MEL: Yeah they're here.
Yes.
Ah (laughs).
MUSTAFA: My God!
I'll just log that properly.
Ignore off loading, and
board all the containers.
NARRATOR: They and their
bags will be going to Hamburg after all.
They may not realize just
how close they came to being left behind.
MEL: Approximately
30 seconds and they wouldn't have made it.
MEL: Thank you.
Let's just see this off
Mustafa ‘cause you did such a good job.
Yes, there it goes.
MUSTAFA: Yes,
crawling on tires.
MEL: Very happy.
Well done.
MUSTAFA: Oh!
Big time relief there, seriously.
With all this sweat, it's worth it.
MEL: Right so ready
for the next one?
MUSTAFA: That's it.
NARRATOR: At Dubai Airport's VIP service,
manager Najla is waiting nervously for
footballing legend Pelé to arrive.
NAJLA: Any minute.
NARRATOR: He's
running half an hour late.
Planes don't wait for VIPs either.
If Pelé doesn't show
up soon, he's gonna be shown the red card.
Al Majlis has 22 staff
on duty, each with a specific job to do,
to make sure that when he does arrive,
his every possible need is catered for.
MAN: So I need one guy to
open the door of the car,
and two will be stand by
here for the luggage okay?
NAJLA: Yes, and tell please the
AKFC staff to prepare hot towels.
Yeah, just when he comes in.
NARRATOR: Finally, the
famous footballer is here.
PELÉ: Morning, morning,
morning.
PELÉ: Hello. How are you?
Nice to meet you.
NAJLA: Welcome. We are very
happy to have you in Dubai.
But you're such a legend you know,
my parents and everyone, they talk
very highly about you.
My Father was a big fan.
PELÉ: It's a
big responsibility.
NAJLA: Thank you very much.
Thank you very much. Thank you very much.
PELÉ: My pleasure.
NAJLA: Alright so
Adul Mahid please?
Can we have the documents
and the passport collection?
Please relax Mr.
Pelé please relax.
NARRATOR: Because Pelé was late, Najla
has just 20 minutes to make sure his bags
are checked in, and his
passport is processed.
So she's going to passport control to
personally make sure it's all done in time.
NAJLA: Hello. Okay good. Okay.
This is one of the benefits of using
Al Majlis, is to not feel the pressure of
walking and doing all the paperwork.
We do it on their behalf while they eat and
relax in their lounges with privacy and just
chat with their friends.
NARRATOR: In the excitement of the moment,
Najla forgot to ask Pelé her burning question.
NAJLA: I felt very overwhelmed,
that's the word like, panicked as I am.
Where am I, I wanted to
take a picture of, yeah.
He's such a humble guy.
NARRATOR: Pelé needs to
leave for his plane in a few minutes.
If Najla wants to ask
her question, this is her last chance.
NAJLA: Mr. Pelé,
I have a question.
PELÉ: Yes. No problem.
NAJLA: Whenever you score the goal, do you
know that you're gonna score a goal before?
PELÉ: Not all the time.
Then sometimes you think you are going
to geta goal, then the ball hits the post.
No goal.
NARRATOR: It's time for Pelé
to be sent off, to the plane.
NAJLA: As a girl, I
played football like Pelé.
MAN: Oh he is great. He is.
NAJLA: Yes.
PELÉ: What position
did you used to play?
NAJLA: I like to, forward.
PELÉ: You like to
score goals like me?
NAJLA: Yes, I like to score.
I don't like to be the goalie.
NARRATOR: In this VIP service, you
get something even first class passengers
can only dream of.
A chauffeured car, directly to the
plane door, just in time for departure.
NAJLA: Good job.
Team good job.
NARRATOR: With the runway reopening fast
approaching, engineering boss Suzanne,
wants to know if the asphalt has
cooled enough for aircraft to land safely.
SUZANNE: Warm.
You can feel the temperature.
How do we reassure that
this is serviceable now?
YOUSUF: The temperature
is less than 80 degrees.
SUZANNE: Okay,
who's measuring?
YOUSUF: We measure it.
When they left it was 50-55, 1 hour ago.
SUZANNE: How do we get the
materials engineer, just before we
YOUSUF: We can
do this. Yes. Yes.
SUZANNE: Before we leave
you know, for record's sake.
NARRATOR: Today's job is done.
But the closure has been an
eye opener, and with her neck on the line,
Suzanne's keen that lessons are
learned fast before the double closure
in just six weeks time.
SUZANNE: There has to be one
little, you know, a person responsible for
all what is going on.
From what we have seen today, there were
a lot of nervous people around and they
contributed to more stress.
YOUSUF: Too many
people were here, which were not required.
SUZANNE: Yeah.
List all your findings from
you know the exercise we have done today,
and we will have a
meeting with the contractors.
Every day will be a challenge, every day.
YOUSUF: Every day.
SUZANNE: Every day.
NARRATOR: It's 7 PM.
With the repair complete,
the north runway is up and running again.
YOUSUF: It's a job done.
But it could have been a
little bit more efficiently.
NARRATOR: The airport is now able
to handle over 1,000 aircraft movements,
24 hours a day.
Captioned by Cotter Captioning Services.